Archive | July, 2010

5 Minute Time Out – To Get Organized!

Posted on July 30, 2010 by in Getting Started, Home Organizing, Time Management

Cleaning out your garage can seem daunting!

It’s a big space with a lot of stuff!

In the podcast this week, we briefly talk about starting small, and taking the garage piece by piece!  Here are some quick things you can do in 5 minutes to at least get started in the organizing process! Who knows maybe after you see the progress only 5 minutes can make, you will take an extra 5 minutes, just for fun!

1) Clean up the entrance area / door leading into your home.  Not the whole wall area, just the main space around the door.  If you have stairs leading up to the door, make sure the stairs are clear!

2)  When you are done clearing the area – take a broom and briefly sweep the area around the door.  It’s amazing what a little clean up can do!

3)  Take 5 minutes and walk around with a trash bag and get out all of the trash.  This is a big one, especially if you have kids.  You are sure to find wrappers that do not belong.

4)  Gather one category of like items, for example; camping gear or sporting equipment and place it all in one area.

5)  For the next 5 minutes you have, sort one category that you placed together.  Use this time for the quick and easy decisions, like the Roller Blades that are too small, or the skis that are broken.

Take a time out today!  Taking just 5 minutes a day… will eventually get your project done!

Doing a little is better than doing none!

Happy Organizing!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words!

Posted on July 28, 2010 by in Home Organizing, Staying Organized

In Monday’s Podcast we talked about Garage Organizing.  For many of us the garage becomes the place where unwanted items tend to accumulate.  Maybe you no longer want the item in your home or maybe your intention is to donate the items but you just haven’t found the time to do so.  In a recent blog post, A New Perspective, we talked about how we can become numb to our surroundings.  The same idea goes with our garages and other storage areas.  You become so used to seeing it, you actually stop seeing it and go on with your normal day to day business.  You avoid making the decision that needs to be made.

In working with clients who are downsizing, I have seen a lot of items left from their children.  These kids are now adults and many have children of their own.  It could be an old dresser, an old rocking chair, old toys or a toy chest.  These items are hard to let go of because they hold a certain memory or time in their lives they do not want to part with.  Logically you know the item is not being used nor will it probably ever be used, but you just are not sure what to do with it.  Does this sound familiar?  It may not be your exact story but it might be close to what you are going through.

I have a couple of suggestions.  First, if the item belonged to an adult child, ask them if they want it… Give them a timeline of when they need to pick it up by, if they don’t want it or do not pick it up within the reasonable amount of time then go on to my next suggestion…

Take a picture of the item and then let it go. This is a great solution to those who scrapbook, you can take a picture and journal in your scrapbook what the piece means to you, your memories of it, etc.  If you don’t scrapbook, you can still take a picture and go back to it later and recapture the memory.  The picture is your reminder!

You actually can use this strategy with a lot of different items in your home, which hold some kind of memory. For example; take a picture of your child with his favorite toy or a favorite outfit, then when they outgrow the toy or the outfit, give yourself permission to let go of the item.

You do not need to keep the item, to keep the memory!

Happy Organizing!

Ep 13: Organizing your Garage

Posted on July 26, 2010 by in Home Organizing, Taking Control: The Organizing Podcast

Is your garage your own personal Bermuda Triangle of stuff? Clutter, boxes, antiques, tools, bikes, furniture — the list goes on and on of all the things that can turn a garage from useful, productive space into a black hole of mess! This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about taming the garage and putting all your garage gear in the proper place!

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When in Doubt – Throw it out!

Posted on July 23, 2010 by in Getting Started

Here is a very standard Organizing Rule you may see from time to time!

When in doubt – throw it out….

It sounds so easy, right?  But I know for many of you it is not!  When you are getting organized, you have to make decisions.  You must decide if something is worth staying in your home.  It is hard to make these decisions and becomes even harder when you don’t know what an item is!  If you don’t know what the item is or what it goes too, it makes it even harder to decide where its permanent home should be.  The items I am talking about are the little bits and pieces that end up a the bottom of boxes and drawers etc.  You know the ones!

Here’s a strategy to try… If you can not figure out what something is within 60 seconds, make the decision to throw it out and never look back.  Most likely, you will never think about this item again.  It seems a little harsh, I know, but following this rule gives you the freedom to decide without feeling guilty or regretful.  (Throwing it out can mean in the trash if it’s garbage or recycle if it’s recyclable.)

Now I know some of you will not be able to do this.  And here is another solution- if you really have a hard to letting go, place these items into their own box or bin.  This box is probably going to be made up of little plastic pieces and many random things.  You will not need to keep this box for a long period of time, but it will at least allow the security you need to get through the process.  At the end of the sorting process, re-evaluate the box and start making decisions if these items are really worth staying.

Happy Organizing!

One Successful Camping Trip!

Posted on July 21, 2010 by in Travel

Our camping trip was a success! Thanks to our great friends who were so helpful and patient with us!  Our kids had a great time and loved every minute of it! We camped at the beach on the Oregon Coast.  Every time we make a trip to the beach and I am always reminded of the beautiful country we live in!  If you haven’t seen the Oregon Coast, I highly recommend it!

Thank you to everyone for the great camping tips… There were so many of them we took advantage of. Camping is really fun but it is a lot of work to prepare for, no doubt about it!

One thing I learned very quickly is if you like to camp, it’s best to be organized! I plan on creating a camping checklist for the next time we go and save it on my computer, that seems to be the only way to go, in order to make sure you do not forget anything!  For this trip I used my friends, which was a great help!  Her extra tip was to include a pen and a pad of paper while you are on your trip.  As you think of items you forget, wish you had, or items that are broken write it down now rather than later! You eliminate the chance of forgetting.  Good idea!

Here are some of the best tips I used and some lessons I learned!

  • Plan your menu – although I did not actually prepare and freeze our meals, which by the way I think is a great idea, I did plan and pre-cut everything, and made a list of all the ingredients to make the meals, that way I did not forget anything.  It was such a great relief to know exactly what we were eating for each meal and have everything we needed.
  • I clearly understand the need for a towel or mat at the opening of the tent.  I wasn’t as strict as I should have been with the kids shoes, most of our bedding got very dirty… ooops!
  • Bring extra blankets – Especially if you are at the Oregon Coast!  It gets chilly at night!
  • Wear sunscreen on your face, neck and ears – It was kind of cold so I didn’t think about putting sunscreen on, I was fully covered, except for my face, ears, and neck… and guess what, I woke up Sunday morning, very red!
  • One tip was to make sure all of our equipment worked before we left… we did and realized we picked up the wrong tent from my sister, so we had to go back and pick up the right one… I am so glad we checked first!!  However, we did not check one of the air mattresses and did get to the campsite and realized there was a hole in the mattress.  Our camping neighbors were kind enough to lend us a patch!  Thank goodness!
  • For the first time, I tried a peanut butter cup on my S’more instead of the standard chocolate bar, I must say… this is a new favorite now!

It helped to go camping for the first time with a family who knew what they were doing!  I feel now that we have the first outing behind us, the next time it won’t take so long to pack and prepare.  I want to come up with the checklist for our family and keep all the camping gear together in the garage, so it’s easy to load and unload.  It was nice to have separate bins for snack food, one for dishes, one for first aide, etc.  Having the items categorized and in separate containers made looking for the items easier.

I think with the right system and practice, we can get this down to a science…

We will be going again and probably soon, as my son said on Saturday, “This is the best day ever!”… It makes your heart smile when you know your children are having such a great time and will remember these days for a very long time!

 

Happy Organizing!